Photos show the biggest moments of the 2024 Paralympics

Romanchuk placed second in round one of the men’s 800-meter and fifth in the final.

“I wanted to capture the lead athlete from Team USA through heavy water on the track,” Slitz said.

Slitz continued, “The low angle helps clean up any distracting elements in the background and really emphasizes the water spray as they come out of the turn.”

China won the team gold, while Great Britain took the silver.

“I aimed to capture a moment of intensity and precision in wheelchair fencing,” Ramos said. “What struck me most was the contrast between the dynamic movements of the athletes and the stillness of their wheelchairs. This balance creates a compelling narrative of strength, determination, and resilience as both competitors challenge their limits to overcome their opponent.”

Davyd Khorava of Ukraine bested South Korea’s Minjae Lee for the bronze medal.

“In Para judo, I wanted to show how dynamic the sport is, and so I wanted to see the athletes flying through the air and being taken down,” Lyons said. “What makes it an interesting sport, I believe, is sometimes we think that everything needs to be really intense and tight and in the face, but in judo, it’s all about arms and legs and heads and bodies and how they are all intertwined and flying through the air. This is the picture I was looking for to show both the intensity and beauty of these athletes — hurling themselves through the air onto the floor.”

“Photographing shooting can be challenging,” Mouhtaropoulos said. “The safety element means as photographers we aren’t allowed near the target range or firing end of the competition. As the competitors are eliminated, space opens up and the gold medalist here, Natascha Hiltrop, framed up exactly where I hoped she would. With some lucky timing, I was able to get the firing rifle with the Paris 2024 logo.”

“David Smith is always a great athlete to photograph,” Baker said. “He always has fun hairstyles, which adds more to an image. I wanted to make sure I had a clean background to showcase this, as well as his skill and precision. This is the first time I’ve ever photographed boccia and I really enjoyed capturing the talents of David Smith.”

“This photograph captures a wheelchair tennis player at the peak of the action,” Ramos said. “The wide, overhead angle provides a unique perspective, emphasizing Luoyao Guo’s movement and the intricate patterns of the wheelchair’s tracks on the clay court.”

He continued, “The composition centers the athlete while the textured background tells the story of the match, with the marks on the court indicating the intense movement and effort involved in each point played.”

Ben Mbarek, a shot putter from Tunisia, placed seventh in the women’s final.

“I was shooting the long jump competition nearby and heard the screams of Sawsen Ben Mbarek and saw the effort she was putting into every throw and it really caught my attention,” Baker said. “I really wanted to show the exuberance and emotion but also the technique of this sport and her approach. You can see really see here the force and power behind the throw.”

“And to add one more interesting element, it was funny to see Mariana Zuniga of Team Chile wearing sunglasses in the downpour,” Chambers said. “Her facial expression and all-blue background really add to the photo, making her seem cool, calm, and collected.”

“Wheelchair fencing can feel repetitive when photographing. However, luck was on my side during the men’s sabre category A gold medal bout when the sabre struck a piece of the German’s mask equipment, creating this unique-looking photo,” Chambers said. “The masks with country flags also add a creative element to shooting the competition.”

“A highlight of the Paralympics has been the continued Parisian support, and any French medalist added to the crowd’s fervor as shown in this frame during Antoine Praud’s lap of honor,” Steele said.

“I wanted to show the speed at which these athletes race around the oval,” Ramos said. “For this photo, I positioned myself in the infield where the athletes warm up. From there, you can follow the racer almost 360 degrees. I chose a very slow shutter speed, one-tenth of a second, and I looked for a position that would allow me to frame a lot of interference and color elements, which when swept away, leave that trail of color that makes the image more powerful.”

“When you’re photographing swimming, the water oftentimes creates patterns out of the ordinary splashes that can make a photo very creative,” Haffey said. “This photo of Tully Kearney was at the start of the race, and I really like the way the water enveloped her, showing her forward movement.”

Jiang ended up winning first place in the women’s 50-meter freestyle. Marks came in second.

“I really like how she is breathing toward her competitor to check where she is positioned in the race,” Pretty said of Jiang.

Gordon Allan, Alistair Donohoe, and Korey Boddington of Australia won the bronze medal in the 750-meter team sprint final.

“I noticed that when I stood in a certain spot, I could see the reflections in the glass as they rounded the first turn,” Elsa said. “During the team sprint, the cyclists are stacked together just after the start of the race, and I knew I had one shot to get the image I wanted. I framed it how I thought it would look best and waited for them to come around the turn.”

“Photographing blind football is about more than freezing action —it’s about capturing the intense emotion and teamwork of the game,” Ramos said. “In this shot, four players, all wearing eye masks, tussle for the ball on a vibrant blue field. I chose an elevated angle to showcase their dynamic interaction, emphasizing their focus and physicality. A high shutter speed helped freeze the moment, revealing every detail of their struggle for control. The contrast between the colorful uniforms and the field draws attention to the players’ effort.”

Khudadadi competed in Taekwondo on the official refugee team of the Paralympics and won the bronze medal.

“The French fans cheered her on the entire day because she currently lives and trains in France, so I knew a winning moment would be explosive from her,” Chambers said. “Little did I know that her coach would do most of the celebrating and parading of her! I positioned myself to stay squared up with the Paris 2024 logo on the stair and waited for the celebration and Khudadadi’s expression to align with it.”

“Parisienne Projections is a Getty Images project which displays the heroics and tragedies of Olympic and Paralympic competitions throughout the host city of Paris, which was originally conceived and executed for the 2024 Paris Olympics,” Davidson said. “Each night, we attempted to marry major events of the day with an appropriate location in Paris for the projection.”

On August 30, a photo of Jincheng Guo, a swimmer from China, was projected onto Paris La Defense Arena, where swimmers had competed earlier in the day.

“After experiencing two Olympic Games with minimal public participation due to pandemic restrictions, we felt a strong desire to reconnect the host city with the athletes, the actions, and the emotions unfolding daily in the stadiums and venues,” Ramos said.